After more than a year of anticipation, the fate of the most famous UFC fighter to date, Ronda Rousey, was decided in just 48 seconds on Friday.

Brazilian fighter Amanda Nunes defended her women's bantamweight champion title by dispatching Rousey with a vicious flurry of strikes in the first round, leaving no doubt about the end of Rousey's long reign as the UFC's top female fighter.

The defeat followed weeks of promotional appearances leading up to the fight, during which Rousey refused to address the media and would only stick around long enough for the public to get a glimpse of her newly ripped physique. Her fighting form, deadly serious scowls and complete silence, led many UFC watchers to wonder if the world was about to see a new version of Rousey, one who had learned from her shocking loss at the boxing-centric hands of Holly Holm in November 2015.

However, Rousey, more known for her judo and jiu jitsu skills than her boxing ability, stepped into the octagon on Friday and surprised everyone by trying to stand toe-to-toe with Nunes, widely known as one of the best strikers in the UFC (male or female).

Image: AP Photo/John Locher

The blame for that strategy is already falling on the shoulders of Rousey's controversial coach, Edmond Tarverdyan, who has, to the dismay of some insiders, kept Rousey's focus on becoming a better striker instead of playing to her strengths. In the wake of the Holm fight, a number of fight experts, including Rousey's own mother, AnnMaria De Mars (herself an Olympic judo champion), continued to maintain that Rousey should change coaches.

Rousey watchers also believed that the fallen champion would have done well to stop doing so many commercials and movies so that she could focus on improving her fighting skills to meet the challenge of a more competitive UFC women's division.

Ronda Rousey's new Pantene commercial is playing in the arena while Amanda Nunes celebrates in the Octagon. pic.twitter.com/trX9jz6xWS

Alas, Rousey continued to pursue her film and promotional opportunities and, despite putting on an incredibly convincing game face, she was thoroughly dismantled by Nunes. So dominant was Nunes' win that UFC commentators, including former Rousey opponent and former UFC champion Miesha Tate, openly speculated that this may have been Rousey's last fight.

Image: AP Photo/John Locher

And just after the fight, Rousey's mother, who was at the fight, also weighed in with hopes that Rousey would retire. However, Rousey hasn't confirmed or denied such talk, instead maintaining her silence, even though UFC tradition is that losers in a match, even high profile ones, address the public following defeat.

For example, Dominick Cruz, who lost his bantamweight title on the same night to Cody Garbrandt, faced the media right after the fight, despite suffering a number of embarrassing moments (Garbrandt literally danced his way to victory).

If this was Rousey's last fight, she still has every reason to be proud of a career that paved the way for women's MMA to get the spotlight it deserves. At one point viewed by many as the Mike Tyson of women's MMA, defeating a long list of intimidating opponents in mere seconds, Rousey is undoubtedly one of the greatest UFC champions ever.

At this point, the only thing that may taint what has been an amazing career is if the former champ continues to avoid the public instead of owning the loss and moving on, her head held high, secure in the knowledge that she was one of the best to do it.

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